If you’d like to enroll in any of the classes below, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com to receive enrollment confirmation.
You must receive an email confirmation before you enroll for a course online! To get confirmed for enrollment, email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
SEMINARS
Two-Day Seminar: Turning Toward Home—Writing About Family in Memoir (taught by Bernard Cooper in Silverlake) – SOLD OUT!
Two Saturdays, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
August 6 and August 13, 2021
The time-honored tradition of the memoir has been given new vitality by contemporary American writers. This seminar will explore memoirs which deal with various aspects of family life—childhood reminiscences, sexual rites of passage, the death of a parent, etc—as seen from a variety of sensibilities and cultural reference points. There will be both discussions of reading by published memoirists and critiques of writing by students. The course will investigate the methods of composition—imagery, character, dialogue, metaphor—that make the memoir as rich and exciting a genre as fiction. We’ll also discuss the ethical and emotional cost of writing and publishing autobiographical material.
This two-day seminar is open to students of all levels. It will be held in Silverlake, where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$170 for new students; $150 for returning students
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Two-Day Seminar: Short Story Crash Course (taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz) – SOLD OUT!
Two Sundays, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
August 21 and August 28, 2021
This two-day seminar will focus on the art of short fiction. T.C. Boyle wrote, “A short story is like a toothache and you must drill it and fill it. A novel is more like bridgework.” According to Lorrie Moore, “A short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.” In this seminar, we will address the particular demands and delights of the short story. We will cover elements of fiction writing such as characterization, scene, voice, tense, dialogue, point of view, and creating stakes. During the first class, we will discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and complete writing exercises designed to tackle specific short story techniques. During the second meeting, participants will have the opportunity to workshop a short short story.
This seminar is open to students of all levels. It will be held in Los Feliz, where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$170 for new students; $150 for returning students
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
One-Day Seminar: Where Do I Begin?—Titles and Beginnings in Prose (taught by Dawn Dorland Perry in Mar Vista) – 6 SPOTS LEFT!
One Saturday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
August 27, 2021
As any practiced writer knows, beginnings aren’t as simple as chronology; nor is it easy to select a title that speaks to the heart of a story or insight without being obvious, or giving too much away. Considering a dynamic and varied range of story, novel, essay, and memoir beginnings, this four-hour mixed genre seminar will introduce students to a custom framework for crafting beginnings and pulling prose titles from their drafts. We’ll identify the different techniques that admired authors apply to their own prose openings and explore the categories that express the relationship a title can bear to the content it describes. Guided writing will help students determine whether a better title or beginning is lurking in their own story or essay draft, or novel or memoir’s first chapter. This seminar is open to students of all levels but is especially recommended for those with a prose work in progress.
This one-day seminar is open to students of all levels. It will be held in Mar Vista, where coffee, sparkling water, and light snacks will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$130 for new students; $120 for returning students
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
POETRY
Mixed Levels Poetry (taught by Kim Young in Eagle Rock) – 1 SPOT LEFT!
Wednesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
July 20, 2021 to September 7, 2021
Through original creative work, revision, reading, and discussion, this eight-week workshop will focus on making poems that are driven by a keen attention to language, image, and sound. Our task will be engaging with each other’s work and the weekly readings in order to explore the ways poetry can recover more complex imaginative and perceptive possibilities. As poet Mark Doty wisely asserts: “Our metaphors go on ahead of us, they know before we do.” We will be putting Doty’s assertion to the test with writing exercises that lead us into surprising and unexpected creative spaces.
This course is open to students at all levels and will take place in Eagle Rock, where wine and sparkling water and small snacks will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students. (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
FICTION
Fiction I (taught by Christopher DeWan at Pop-Hop Books in Highland Park) – SOLD OUT!
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
August 2, 2021 to September 20, 2021
This eight-week workshop will introduce beginning writers to the techniques of fiction writing such as plot, characterization, scene, dialogue, and point of view. In class, students will discuss published fiction from a craft perspective and do writing exercises designed to tackle particular techniques. Students will have the chance to workshop their writing in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire each member of the class. The class is also open to more experienced writers who simply want to go deeper into the fundamentals.
This class will take place at Pop-Hop Books in Highland Park where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students. (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Westside Mixed Levels Fiction (taught by Laura Warrell in Culver City/Mar Vista) – 2 SPOTS LEFT!
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
July 26, 2021 to September 13, 2021
This eight-week mixed levels class is designed for both short story writers and novelists. For the first four weeks, students will do in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction from a craft perspective. The class will cover such topics as characterization, pacing, point of view, structure, voice, and theme, and there will be short take-home writing assignments designed to help students explore different topics and story ideas. Students will have the chance to workshop their writing in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire each member of the class.
This class will take place in Culver City, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students. (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Weekend Mixed Levels Fiction (taught by Neelanjana Banerjee in South Pasadena) – 1 SPOT LEFT!
Sundays, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
July 24, 2021 to September 25, 2021 (No class on September 4 or September 18)
This eight-week mixed-levels class is designed for both short story writers and novelists who cannot attend a workshop during the week. For the first four classes, students will do in-class writing exercises and discuss published short fiction and novel excerpts from a craft perspective. The course will cover such topics as characterization, pacing, point of view, structure, voice, and scene. Every week there will be a five-page requirement to make sure students are writing and rewriting regularly. For the final four weeks of the course, students will be workshopped in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire every member of the class. Each student will have the opportunity to workshop either one short story manuscript or one novel excerpt (maximum 25 pages).
This class will take place in South Pasadena, where coffee and sparkling water—and the occasional snack—will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students. (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Novel I (taught by Diana Wagman in Echo Park) – SOLD OUT!
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
July 26, 2021 to September 13, 2021
This eight-week class is designed for both those who have begun novels and those who are looking to begin a novel. Students will work on character, structure, plot, pacing, point of view, voice, setting, as well as what makes a good beginning and how to end your story. We will discuss the pros and cons of outlining and read one short novel together over the eight weeks as a basis of discussion. For the first two weeks, students will do in-class writing exercises aimed at forwarding their stories. For the remaining six weeks, students will read and workshop each other’s work in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire every member of the class. Each student will have the opportunity to workshop one chapter (maximum 30 pages).
This class will take place in Echo Park, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in applying or signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Advanced Fiction (taught by Kate Maruyama in Glendale) – 2 SPOTS LEFT!
Mondays, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
July 25, 2021 to September 19, 2021 (No class on September 5)
In this eight-week class, students will develop and write their stories and novels in progress. Students will read and discuss stories and novel excerpts to examine the tools of the trade, and do writing exercises designed to bring their projects into sharper focus. The class will address issues such as character, pacing, tension, progression, and voice. Every week there will be a five-page requirement to make sure students are writing and rewriting regularly. In the last few weeks of the course, students will workshop up to 40 pages.
This class will take place in Glendale, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in applying or signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
NONFICTION
Nonfiction I (taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz) – SOLD OUT!
Thursdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
July 21, 2021 to September 15, 2021 (No class on August 18)
In this eight-week course, students will read, discuss, and draft essays (or chapters) that will explore the genre(s) of personal narrative and memoir. The readings will be selected to stimulate essay ideas and suggest techniques for engaging personal and creative expression. There will be in-class and homework exercises that address topics such as persona, audience, story, description, memory and truth, and ethical considerations specific to the genre. Students will have the chance to workshop their writing in a serious, respectful, and community-oriented environment meant to challenge and inspire each member of the class.
This class will take place in Los Feliz, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students. (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Nonfiction II (taught by Bernard Cooper in Silverlake) – SOLD OUT!
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
July 26, 2021 to September 13, 2021
This eight-week intermediate course is designed for writers who are looking to continue their exploration of the memoir or personal essay genre. The students will have some familiarity with at least a few of the basic concerns of personal narrative, such as dramatization, dialogue, sensory detail, retrospective versus immediate point of view, ethics, and so on. There will be some assigned readings, but the class will focus on bringing projects toward completion through a process of drafting, feedback, and revision in a challenging but supportive environment. Occasional homework exercises may be given, tailored to develop aspects of an individual student’s prose. Weekly in-depth workshops will help students develop their craft and apply critical reading skills to their own writing. Students will have the opportunity to submit work for review on a regular basis. Since this course is designed for more experienced writers, previous enrollment in WWLA’s Nonfiction I course is suggested but not required.
This class will take place in Silverlake, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students. (Payment plans available to returning students.)
If you’re interested in signing up, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Memoir Writing (taught by Chris Daley in Los Feliz) – SOLD OUT!
Tuesdays, 7:30 to 9:30 pm
July 19, 2021 to September 6, 2021
In this eight-week advanced workshop, students will develop, write, and/or revise their memoirs in progress. Students will read and discuss published memoir chapters and excerpts to examine the tools of the genre, and they will complete writing exercises designed to bring their projects into sharper focus. The class will address issues such as persona, audience, story, description, memory and truth, and ethical considerations specific to the genre. Students will have the chance to workshop their writing in a serious environment meant to challenge and inspire each member of the class.
This class will take place in Los Feliz, where wine and sparkling water—and the occasional gourmet cheese—will be served.
This workshop is open to experienced writers only and seats are limited due to returning students. To apply for entry, please email enrollment@writingworkshopsla.com.
Enrollment limit: 8 students
$390 for new students; $350 for returning students. (Payment plans available to returning students.)